The #1 and #2 NFC seeds will meet in both conference championship games.
New England Patriots 27
Kansas City Chiefs 20
Someone once said that you make your own luck. The Patriots had luck on their side on one of the last plays of the game. The Patriots needed one final first down to run the clock to zero. Instead of running the ball Tom Brady threw. His pass ricocheted off of Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali into the hands of Patriots receiver Julian Edelman. First down. Patriots win.
It really shouldn't surprise that the Patriots threw the ball. When most teams run. They throw. A lot. They had no runs on their opening possession. A possession that ended with a touchdown. 11 passes. They only ran the ball 14 times the entire game. Brady threw the ball 42 times.
"Steven Jackson moves like two skyscrapers come to life."
-Chris Wesseling of NFL.com's Around the League
That's funny.
The Patriots first run of the game came on their second possession. Center Bryan Stork was injured on the play. His return to the game was called questionable but he did return.
Chiefs receiver Jeremy Maclin played but he was slowed by the ankle injury that he suffered last week. He had two catches for 23 yards but he was more decoy than weapon.
The Patriots did a fantastic job on Chiefs explosive tight end Travis Kelce. He caught six of the nine passes thrown his way but he gained only 23 yards on those catches. Nearly all of his receptions were close to the line of scrimmage and the Patriots got him to the ground for little or no gain on each.
Without Maclin and Kelce limited by the Patriots defense the Chiefs offense was handicapped all game.
Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith still made some things happen. He made some brilliant plays and throws to receiver Jason Avant. One of which involved some Houdini-esque scrambling ending with a beautifully placed throw along the sideline.
Patriots rookie corner Justin Coleman had some nice coverage and made some plays. The Minnesota Vikings signed Coleman as an undrafted free agent last May. I'm kinda disappointed that he's in New England rather than Minnesota. He didn't look fazed by the grand stage of the NFL playoffs and he looks he has a future in the league.
Some of these intentional grounding-no calls are absurd. Russell Wilson got away with one last week. Tom Brady got away with one yesterday. Brady even threw his left-handed.
I think that announcer Dan Fouts was watching a whole other game.
The clock management of the Chiefs seemed a little shaky. They used about 50 seconds of the final two minutes inside of the Patriots 10-yard line. There seemed to be no sense of urgency. They scored a touchdown to move within a single score, 27-20, with about a minute to play. They also had all three time outs left. It might not have been such poor clock management after all. They were even in a position in which they didn't have to go for an onside kick. They did. The defense just couldn't give up a first down. They did. And that was the end of it for the Chiefs.
The Chiefs defense really missed linebacker Justin Houston. He was dressed but barely played. He's one of the best pass rushers in the league and the Chiefs never did get to Brady.
The Chiefs were one of the best stories in the league this season. They turned around a 1-5 start to the season with an incredible 11-game win streak.
Rob Gronkowski is a beast. No news there. When he's healthy he might be the most difficult to defend player in the league. Despite reports saying otherwise before the game he looks healthy.
The Patriots are really good.
5 straight AFC Championship game for the Patriots. 10 in the last 15 years. They have won 6 of those 10. Going for 7. Incredible.
Arizona Cardinals 26
Green Bay Packers 20
Overtime, Hail Mary passes, fluky touchdowns, big plays negated. A botched coin toss.
This game had it all. It wasn't the cleanest played game but it sure was entertaining.
The Cardinals found a way to win it. Receiver Larry Fitzgerald was a big reason for that. If not the reason the Cardinals won.
Fitzgerald has been an outstanding football player for all of his 12 years in the league. He's been even better in the playoffs. His run in the 2008 playoffs was one of the best I've ever seen. Especially from a receiver. His play against the Packers on Saturday was more of the same. He was great. 8 catches 176 yards. He gained all of the 80 yards that the Cardinals gained in overtime. He took the first play in overtime, a short pass from Carson Palmer, 75 yards to the Packers 5-yard line. It was a brilliant piece of running. A saving tackle from Packers corner Casey Hayward kept it from being an 80-yard, single-play, walk-off, overtime touchdown. Fitzgerald capped the scoring, the game, and ensured the Cardinals presence in the NFC Championship game with a 5-yard touchdown on a nicely run shovel pass.
Fitzgerald put a struggling Cardinals offense on his back and refused to lose. Much like he did in 2008.
One of the reasons that the Cardinals struggled was the Packers defense. The best I've seen this defense play all season has been in the past two playoff games. That's a good time kick up the play. The Cardinals had issues running the ball (40 yards) and Palmer was harassed throughout the game. He never looked comfortable and passes that he made look so easy all season looked difficult. His second touchdown toss to Michael Floyd was more luck than skill, talent, or execution. It was intended for Fitzgerald, ricocheted off of Packers corner Damarious Randall, and ended up in the hands of Floyd.
The Cardinals have to get back to their more efficient offensive ways if they want to make their Super Bowl dreams a reality.
Until the eye-popping plays at the end of the game it looked like the game's biggest plays were going to be a couple that were negated by penalties. Packers receiver Randall Cobb made a terrific, diving catch to complete a 51-yard play at the end of the first quarter. Offsetting penalties negated the play. An injury on the play took Cobb out of the game. The Cardinals had a big play of their own taken away on the very same Packers possession. Cardinals corner Patrick Peterson intercepted an Aaron Rodgers pass on the goal line and returned it 100 yards for a Cardinals touchdown. An illegal use of the hands penalty on defensive lineman Frostee Rucker negated that big Cardinals play. Even though both plays technically never happened we still got to see them. So there is that.
The Packers were without Jordy Nelson all season. They were without Davante Adams for this game. They were without Randall Cobb for three quarters of this game. Patrick Peterson effectively removed James Jones from this game with his coverage. That left unheralded second-year receivers Jeff Janis and Jared Abbrederis as the Packers outside, pass-catching threats. Both are very talented receivers and each has a bright future in Green Bay. The Packers just seem to reload at the position. They routinely draft receivers outside of the first round, develop them, and then turn them loose. Necessity brought Janis and Abbrederis to the stage a little early but they sure looked ready for it. They kept getting open. They kept making plays. 11 catches for 200 yards between them.
It was Janis that shone the brightest. Seven catches for 145 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown, an eight-yarder, in the third quarter gave the Packers their first and only lead of the game. It was the second touchdown that had everyone talking.
Another Hail Mary.
A quarterback might have two Hail Mary touchdown passes in his career. Aaron Rodgers had two this season. He threw one in prime time, in front of the nation, against the Detroit Lions earlier in the season. He threw another against the Cardinals to force overtime. 41 yards to Jeff Janis as time expired. The Cardinals pass rush forced Rodgers to scramble. He did. And lofted a beauty to his guy. Janis had it, bobbled it, and finally secured it while on the ground. A thrilling end to regulation.
Janis' 60-yard catch a few plays before the Hail Mary catch made it all possible. 4th-and-20 from their own four-yard line, the Packers were just about done. Then they weren't when Rodgers found Janis wide open at the Cardinals 36-yard line. Just like that the Packers had a chance.
The Coin Toss.
It's simply stunning that an NFL game can have an issue with the coin toss. The Coin Toss. Come on! Referee Clete Blakeman tossed the coin rather than flipping it. It never turned over as it landed just as it had started in his hand. Very strange. Rodgers called tails. It landed heads. Blakeman, perhaps embarrassed by his ridiculous toss, grabbed the coin and actually flipped it the second time. He flipped it without giving Rodgers a chance to call again. The rules don't say a thing about giving a team a second opportunity to call a second toss because the rules don't say a thing about a second toss. Whether legitimate or not, this stupid toss did play a role in the game as the Packers offense never saw the ball in overtime.
This was a crazy, fun game.
Carolina Panthers 31
Seattle Seahawks 24
Considering that this game was 31-0 at the half this turned into quite a game. It took an onside kick recovery by Thomas Davis to seal the game for the Panthers.
The Panthers jumped all over the Seahawks early. It was 14-0 before the game was four minutes old.
A quick opening touchdown drive and then Panthers all-everything middle linebacker Luke Kuechly returned an interception 14 yards for the second score. The Panthers defense dominated the first half. The offense scored on each of their possessions of the first half except for the last one when they were just trying to drain the clock.
Who knows if the Panthers just cruised through the second half but it sure looked like they did. They played with such energy and aggressiveness at the start of the game. They played like they wanted to win in the first half. They played like they were just trying not to lose in the second half. They played like they were simply watching the clock.
Maybe the Seahawks energy in the second half was the difference. It's a good thing for the Panthers that they scored 31 points in the first half.
Seeing as the Seahawks often toss out excuses for losses and shaky wins they will probably point to early issues with their footing on the turf in the coming days. There was some slipping and several Seahawks were seen changing cleats on the sideline. Checking the turf and the footing on the turf is one of the things that teams usually do during warmups. BEFORE the game. Not having the right cleats during the game is entirely on them.
The announcers of Seahawks games, especially late in the season, have frequently stated that the team has been surprised with the impact that rookie receiver Tyler Lockett has made on offense. The Seahawks, apparently, drafted him for his return skills and hoped that he would eventually develop on offense. I find this amazing. Anybody that watched Lockett play at Kansas St. had to see his receiving skills. He was a great returner but he was and is an excellent receiver. If the Seahawks didn't see those skills while scouting him they don't deserve him now.
Lockett had a 33-yard touchdown on a Wilson prayer yesterday.
"Luke Kuechly is a sneaky athletic, high football IQed, high motored monster."
-Colts punter Pat McAfee
McAfee may be a punter but he's right. Kuechly is an awesome football player. So much fun to watch. He's the standard for the middle linebacker position. His interception return early in the game can be considered the difference in a seven-point win.
The Panthers gained 144 yards rushing. Running back Jonathan Stewart had 106 of those yards. 59 of those yards came on the first play of the game. I really like the play design of the Panthers running plays. There's a lot of misdirection. It's fun to watch. Having the tremendously versatile Cam Newton at quarterback gives offensive coordinator Mike Shula a lot of options.
Seeing as I didn't think that the Seahawks had any business being part of the Divisional round of the playoffs it was great to see the Panthers hold on for this win.
Denver Broncos 23
Pittsburgh Steelers 16
For a team heading to the AFC Conference Championship game the Broncos had some difficulties moving the ball. They were set up with excellent field position on several occasions and could only manage field goals. Five field goals in all. They looked like the Vikings.
The lone Broncos touchdown came with just over three minutes to play. It was set up by linebacker DeMarcus Ware's recovery of Steelers running back Fitzgerald Toussaint's fumble. The fumble stopped a promising Steelers drive that might have sealed the game and gave the Broncos the ball and some much needed momentum. In that light it was the play of the game for the Broncos.
The Steelers looked like the more potent offensive team most of the game. Despite the absence of receiver Antonio Brown, and running backs Le'Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams. The absence of those playmakers opened the door for receiver Martavis Bryant. He responded with nine catches for 154 yards. He also added 40 yards on a couple of runs.
Cincinnati Bengals idiot linebacker Vontaze Burfict played too much a role in this game. His ridiculous play last week knocked Brown of this game with a concussion. He ended Bell's season during the regular season. While he was at it he also injured quarterback Ben Roethlisberger last week. Although Roethlisberger was effective this game.
The Broncos offensive issues were due in part to drops by receivers. Peyton Manning put the ball on target more often than not but his receivers didn't do him many favors. There were at least five drops in the first half alone. Most of which would have moved the chains. Maybe some of those five field goals would have ended up as touchdowns if those catches were made.
Whatever the Broncos offensive problems are they better figure them out in the next week. 23 points probably won't be enough to take down the Patriots.
As a Minnesota Vikings fan it's difficult to accept their absence in this divisional round. They had the Seahawks on the ropes in the Wild Card round. All they had to do was make a 27-yard field goal. A 27-yard field goal! Every field goal that I see is painful and there were a bunch this weekend. 19 were attempted. 18 were made. The only miss was the 55-yard attempt by Seahawks kicker Steven Hauschka at the end of the first half. All 18 that were made looked so easy. So easy. So damn easy.
Congratulations to the four teams that have moved on in the playoffs. The top two in each conference.
Here's what we have next weekend:
AFC: New England Patriots @ Denver Broncos
NFC: Arizona Cardinals @ Carolina Panthers
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